Charity to refuse proceeds from US Navy SEAL's book

A charity for the US Navy SEALs says it will refuse any proceeds from a book
by an ex-commando who took part in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden,
after the Pentagon threatened legal action against the author.

'No Easy Day' has shot to the top of bestseller lists amid an avalanche of publicityPhoto: GETTY

7:06PM BST 06 Sep 2012

The former Navy SEAL who wrote No Easy Day under the pen name Mark Owen has promised to donate a majority of his profits to charities, but one of the non-profit groups he touted – the Navy SEAL Foundation – has ruled out accepting his donations.

"The Navy SEAL Foundation is committed to providing immediate and ongoing support and assistance to the Naval Special Warfare community and their families.

"With this principled mission in mind, the Foundation will not be accepting any donations that are generated from the book or any related activities," the group said in a statement on its website.

"The Department of Defense (DOD) is considering pursuing legal remedies against the author," it said.

At the end of his book, the author appeals to readers to donate to charities that help veterans and their families, listing three that focus on the elite SEAL units, including the Navy SEAL Foundation based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

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The book has shot to the top of bestseller lists amid an avalanche of publicity, but Owen's decision to publish his first-hand account has angered many fellow SEALs, including the commander of the elite units, who say he has betrayed the ethos of the special operators to be "quiet professionals".

The Pentagon has accused the author of revealing classified information and violating non-disclosure agreements he signed while in uniform, which it says require him to submit any manuscript to the defence officials before publication.